What’s new with the PALS program? Online time tracking!
Notice: !!! Dated November 15th
PALS UPDATE: We are now "live" with the online tracking
system for PALS hours! If you have not received a registration email from
14Dayz.com (subject "You have been invited to join a team at 14Dayz.com")
and would like to track your volunteer hours online, please request access
by sending your family name and email address to PALS@stjohnschool.net. The
PALS Coordinator will create your account and the registration email will be
sent to the address you provide.
PALS FAQ of the month:
Q: Can I track time in both the online system and the logbook in the office?
A: No, we can only track one system per family, either via the logbook or online in the 14Dayz application. If you are using the online system to record your volunteer hours, PLEASE do not also record your time in the logbook in the school office. The PALS Coordinator is not able to
transfer records from the logbook to the online system because only individual families can enter time in their online accounts. If you DO NOT track your time online using 14Dayz, then continue to use the logbook in the school office.
St. John School has partnered with Brains4All, a Netherland company, to provide a web-based time tracking application to track our PALS volunteer hours online. The application is called fourteenDayz. You can find more information about the company and product at www.14dayz.com
Registration
You will find the registration process very simple and the application very easy to use. If you approved your email address to be used for PALS Time Tracking prior to the launch, an email with the subject “You have been invited to join a team at 14Dayz.com” will automatically be sent to you when the application is turned “live” for St. John school.
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This email will contain your user name and password, and a link that takes you directly to the login screen. If you do not receive this email from 14Dayz.com by Wednesday November 5 th, 2008 and/or you would like to sign up, please send an email with your family name and email address to pals@stjohnschool.net . Please allow 1-2 business days to process your registration, after which you will receive the email referenced above. You will then be able to log in to 14Dayz and enter your volunteer hours with just a few simple keystrokes!
Instructions for using 14Dayz
Log in
The “account has been created” email you receive from 14Dayz will provide three different links for you to choose from. The secure and standard links will take you to a 14Dayz login screen where you will log in by entering your user name and password. The 3rd link will bypass the login screen by automatically logging you in to your account. It is recommended that one of the first things you do after logging in is change your password to something easier to remember than the 14Dayz-supplied password.
Password
All passwords are confidential between you and 14dayz.com.
The school’s webmaster, administration, and PALS Coordinator do not have access to or knowledge of any users’ passwords other than their own. If you forget your password, you must go to the standard login page ( https://stjohnschoolpals.14dayz.com/site/en/home/login/ ) and click on the “ go here!” link. A new password will be sent to you via email.
Entering your time
Once you have logged in you will be at the main menu. Click on either the Time Sheet button or the Go button next to your name in the middle of the screen. This takes you to the timesheet where you can enter your hours by individual tasks. You may want to change to a weekly view by clicking the link on the right hand side that reads “ Week by week timesheet”. Since few people have more than two tasks per day, this may be an easier and faster way to scroll to the day you desire.
Each task requires four fields of data when entering time. They are:
Project: St. John School will only utilize one project which is titled “PALS Volunteer Hours”. By typing the letter “p”, the project name will automatically display and you can tab to the next field.
Categories: You will find 8 general categories to choose from. You can select the category by either using the drop down icon or typing the first few letters of the category. These categories will help us analyze how our hours are being applied and will be used for public relations materials. If you do not see the exact category you want, please select the one you feel most closely matches you task. If you cannot decide, then use “General School Support”. The categories are Auction, Cafeteria, Classroom Support, Extracurricular Activities, General School Support, HSA Meetings/Activities, SAC Meetings/Activities and School/Grounds Maintenance.
Description: This is a free text field that allows you to enter a short description of the task you performed. The description can be general in nature. If you combine multiple tasks into one time entry, please be more descriptive (i.e. Mowing on 9/1, 9/25 & 10/4).
Time: Time should be entered in decimal format (i.e. 1.25 = 1 hours and 15 minutes). Please round to the nearest ¼ hour. It is not necessary to capture anything smaller than 15 minute increments.
Saving and changing time entries
Individual tasks are entered into the database after completing each task line. If a change is made to one of the fields, it is automatically stored when you leave that line. If you want to completely delete a line, click on the garbage can at the left side of the appropriate line. An “X” icon on the right side of a task line allows you to move the task to another date. (Note: it is not necessary to click on the Store Timesheet icon at the bottom of the page of the Week by Week view, nor is it necessary to click the “Tentative” or “Priority” check boxes).
Reports
You can click on the Reports button at the top of any screen. The system will automatically display all the time entries you have made with a total at the end of the page. You will have the ability to print the report, export the data to Excel, or create a PDF file of the report using the links at the bottom of the page.
FAQ’s
PALS FAQ of the month:
Q: Can I track time in both the online system and the logbook in the office?
A: No, we can only track one system per family, either via the logbook or online in the 14Dayz application. If you are using the online system to record your volunteer hours, PLEASE do not also record your time in the logbook in the school office. The PALS Coordinator is not able to
transfer records from the logbook to the online system because only individual families can enter time in their online accounts. If you DO NOT track your time online using 14Dayz, then continue to use the logbook in the school office.
Q: How do I get my personal user name and password access to the PALS Hours tracking system?
A: Send an email to the PALS Coordinator pals@stjohnschool.net and request access to the system. You must include your family’s last name and email address. An email that contains your user name, password and several links to the website, will be sent to you within a couple of business days.
Q: What do I do if I’ve forgotten my password?
A: Go to the login screen and click on the go here! link at the top of the page. You will be prompted for the email address you registered with and a new password will be sent to that address.
Q: Can I change the password sent by 14Dayz to something easier to remember?
A: Yes, once you have logged in with your current password, there is a link called Change your Password on the right hand side of the page. Click that link and follow the prompts.
Q: Do I still need to log my hours in the logbook in the office?
A: .......
No - PLEASE do not also record your time in the logbook in the school office if you are using the online system to record your volunteer hours. ...
Yes - only if you can not use the online system. We do prefer the online system.
Q: Can I track time in both the online system and the logbook in the office?
A: No, we can only track one system per family, either via the logbook or online in the 14Dayz application. We do prefer the online system.
Q: Which category do I use for a particular task?
A: When deciding on a category, the rule of thumb is to select the one that receives the most benefit from the task. For example, driving on a field trip could be considered an extracurricular activity, but the benefit mostly applies to the teacher and classroom, so therefore “classroom support” should be selected.
Q: When I first logged into 14Dayz, I already had a balance. Where did that come from?
A: Some families will see a single line entry for the hours they volunteered in the first quarter of the year. This was done with the initial data load as a convenience for you. The line should equal what was sent with the first quarterly statement. Any hours logged since October 14 th should be entered into the online system by each family. You may feel free to take home your log sheet from the logbook since they will no longer be needed in the office.
Q: Why do I see 3 different login options in the registration email from 14Dayz?
A: The different addresses allow you to login 3 different ways; through a regular internet connection, through a secure internet connection, or through a secure internet connection that automatically logs you into your account.
Q: Will quarterly statements continue to be sent with this new system in place?
A: No and yes. One of the best features of this new system is the fact that you can view your account activity right online, thus eliminating the need for quarterly statements. However, not everyone has opted to use this new online system so we will still have to provide quarterly statements to those who are recording their hours in the logbook in the office.
Q: What if I want to change the email address I registered with?
A: Send an email to pals@stjohnschool.net with the new email address you want to use. When the new address is entered into the system, an email and new password will be sent to the new address you supplied.
Q: What do I do if I have a question that is not answered here?
A: Send an email to pals@stjohnschool.net clearly stating the problem you are having. The PALS Coordinator will research your question and try to respond within a couple of business days.
Q: Will more FAQ’s be added to this site?
A: Yes. Although the system is easy to use, we expect additional questions. This page will be updated as new questions arise.
These 4 pages are printable; the white prints grey.
